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Well I've always wanted to write this story and I might still yet put together the long version. But here is the quick version of my "brush with death."

Just over 10 years ago, I got into hiking in a big way. I quickly worked my way up to all-day 25+ mile hikes by parking at a trailhead and doing a "loop" through the forests of New England, particularly New Hampshire and western Mass.

Anyway, it was February and my wife wanted to take the kids to Disneyland during school vacation (for like the 5th time). I was sick and tired of Disneyland and begged off the trip, especially as the MIL and other relatives would be making the trip as well.

So the weekend they left, I booked a hotel up in the White Mountains region of New Hampshire and planned a 28 mile hike for that Saturday on a trail I hiked the previous autumn. The snow cover was not that deep for that time of year so it seemed a perfect time to do the hike again in winter. A snowstorm was forecasted for Saturday night and Sunday so I had visions of spending Sunday at the hotel resting in the hot tub and having nothing to do but read some books and drink a bottle of wine or two.

I drove up Friday night and got up bright and early to start the hike. I had to be at the trailhead at the crack of dawn as there was only about 10 hours of good daylight that time of year and I didn't want to get caught in the dark in the middle of the woods and it would take me about 8 hours of walking (not including rest) to make the hike. The terrain would be hilly but no major inclines so I figured I would be able to average close to 3.5 mph.

With a snowstorm on the way, I was paying attention to updates. As of that morning, the snow was expected to move in around dark. As I figured to be back to my car by dark, I wasn't that worried and actually the prospect of ending my hike in a bit of snow actually appealed to me.

I was at the breakfast diner by 5:30am where I had a heavy breakfast along with some truck drivers that stopped in and by 6am was pulling into the trailhead - I was the the only car there but wasn't worried as it was still early.

So with a light backpack of some nuts, raisins, a couple peanut butter sandwiches, other snack bars and plenty of water, I set off down the trail as the eastern sky behind me just started to lighten a bit.

For the first few hours, everything went smoothly and I was making excellent time and feeling good. I actually ran into other hikers coming from the other direction. The trail only had snow and ice in some places, mostly it was bare ground and not that cold at all. However, as the halfway point approached, I noticed that the skies were now overcast and that the clouds were lowering. It appeared that the snowstorm was going to come a little early.

As I reached the 14 mile point where the trail U-turned back east for the long loop back to the trailhead, I took a brief rest to bolt down my sandwiches and get a good long drink of water. The sky was definitely darkening and I saw what appeared to be falling snow off in the distance to the west, but I was still not concerned. I was now headed back to the car, which was 4-5 hours away at my current pace. It was just around 11am and thus had a solid 5-6 hours of daylight left. It would be a piece of cake.

Barely a half hour later, I noticed the first flakes and very quickly, the snow was falling at a moderate pace and the cold ground rapidly became snow covered. I now began to quicken up the pace which caused me to slip and slide a little on the trail. Not good as you do not want to fall and injure yourself on a trail in the middle of the woods with a snowstorm bearing down on you. I had a cellphone with me (turned off to save the battery) but was not sure how good a signal I would get this deep in the forest if I needed to turn it on.

As the snow increased in intensity, I could no longer rely on the ground to pick up the trail. I had to now rely on the reflective trail markers, which themselves were becoming partially obscured by the falling snow. I actually started veering off the trail (losing time) and had to backtrack to pick up the markers, were were in some instances very far apart. I now felt like I was stuck in a Jack London story.

The snow now started to fall heavily and the first twinges of panic started to hit me. I had to get to the car not only before dark but before the snow got too deep for me to drive it back to the road!

Around 3PM, it started getting noticeably darker and no signs of the trailhead. I started wondering whether I wandered off the trail and picked up a different trail (it happens). When my pedometer hit 28 miles, I was still in the middle of darkening woods in heavy blowing snow and no sign of the trailhead. As I walked further, I now come to realize that somehow I picked up a different trail and now might be walking miles out of my way.

I am now kicking myself for not bringing a compass as I no longer know whether I am heading east, north or south. I'm pretty sure I'm not heading west as that would have required a full 180 but then again, I have no way to be certain of that either.

Snow is now 3-4 inches deep and it is dark enough where I need to pull out my flashlight (thank goodness I brought one of those) and find the reflective markers that way. I decide that even though I'm obviously on a different trail, my best bet is to follow it to the end as surely it will put me back on the main road...unless I somehow got turned around and now I'm walking the same trail backwards! That thought sends chills up my spine because this would mean I'd be walking the full 28 miles all over again and I was pretty sure I would not have the stamina for that. Already, my legs are killing me and I just want to sit down and rest for a while - but that would certainly be a very dangerous thing to do in this cold and snow.

So I trudge on for what seems like hours until suddenly I find myself on the main road, which at least was recently plowed. I look at my watch and it is 6:45! I have now been walking for over 12 hours.

Now that I am on the road, I now have to decide whether to turn right (south) or left (north). I'm pretty sure that my car is parked up the road to the north as I got the sense that I veered to the south when I picked up the wrong trail. But if I choose wrong, the road goes some 15 miles north before you even hit so much as a gas station. On the other hand, I know that the town I'm staying in is only a few miles to the south. But if my car is parked to the north, I'd have to walk all the way into town unless I can get a snow plow driver to pick me up - there is no traffic on this road whatsoever currently and with the snowstorm now at its height, it might be hours before they plow this road again.

Now totally disoriented and feeling very fatigued, I make the decision to head north where I'm pretty sure my car is. But as I stagger up the road into the wind-driven snow, I realize that it is quite possible that I could walk right by the trailhead (and my car) without even realizing it as visibility is poor and everything on the ground is covered in white.

Fortunately, I see a road sign that I recognized from before and I am now convinced I'm heading to my car. Only I forget how far away the trailhead is from this sign, was it one mile or several miles?

At this point, I am freezing cold, tired and miserable. If a snowplow does not come up this road again tonight and I can't find my car, I am in some serious trouble as I did not bring any overnight survival gear with me. Best I can do is bury myself in a snowbank and use body heat to stay warm and hope I don't get frostbite on my extremities.

Staggering along, I see what might be the pull-in to the trail-head. Sure enough I see the clearing that is the parking lot and a big snow-covered lump which is where my car is. Obviously I took a different trail on the way back that put me a mile or two further down the road.

With much relief, I get into the car and it starts right up. Before getting too comfortable though, I must now clear the car of snow and find a way to get it back on the road. There is now 2-3 inches of fresh unplowed snow on the road and a good six inches on the ground total.

As I'm clearing the snow off my car, I see flashing yellow lights in the trees by the road - the snowplows are coming through again! I hobble to the road to flag them down (I will probably need a tow back to the road) but they are long gone by the time I get there.

I head back to the car and finish clearing the snow off of it and now attempt to get back on the road. Surprisingly, the traction is good and I'm able to get the car up to the road. However, due to the snowplows coming through, there is a bank of snow that my car will surely not make it through. At least I'm smart enough not to attempt it because getting your car stuck in a snowbank will surely get it hopelessly mired and if you are able to get partially through, the nose of your car will be sticking out and likely get whacked by the next snowplow that comes along.

So now I am forced to clear the snowbank by hand as I have no shovel in the trunk (like any New Englander should) and manage to clear enough space to get my car through but not before I put some serious frostbite on my fingers because even though I have gloves, the snow has now gotten into the inside of my gloves.

I manage to plow the car through the snow bank and fishtail a little on the main road before re-gaining control. With the heaters blasting, I head into town while de-frosting my hands and face. I hardly even remember how I got to my hotel room that night but somehow I got my clothes peeled off and collapsed into bed where I was out cold for the next 10 hours.

That snowstorm ended up dumping two feet of snow and had it taken me an hour or two longer to get to my car, I seriously doubt that I would be around to write this story today.